Getting another opinion on duration of adjuvant HT

As I continue to argue with myself over how long to stay on adjuvant HT (18, 24, or 36 months), I made a decision to get another opinion. I have an appointment with Dr. Richard Lam in about 3 weeks. It is an easy flight over to LAX. His office is very near the airport. I don’t know if this will help clarify (or confuse) my thinking but I figure it can’t hurt to have someone like Dr. Lam take a look at my case. Plus, I view it as an investment in the future should I have a recurrence – having a prostate oncologist expert on the team. I will let you know how the appointment goes and provide any interesting feedback to the group here.

SC

Will look forward to what you learn!

For now I have give no thought to how long I'll stay on HT, it has only been 6 months for me to date.

Bud

SC:

I thought the latest thinking is really 9-15 months (is it different for adj. HT compared to regular HT after other tx. fail??).

Be sure to let us know what you find out.

Having consulted by telephone with Dr. Lam, I have more than a passing interest in your impressions.

Yes, you absolutely should get a top medical oncologist on your team.

Mel

Thanks everyone. I will definitely post the feedback I get.

Mel, I think HT duration philosophy is typically different for initial treatment versus after a treatment failure. My rad onc pushes hard for 36 months as part of the initial treatment but once there is a treatement failure, he goes with the intermittent approach until that fails .. I think 6-8 months at a time. But, I have never pushed for details on the latter since it is not applicable to me at this point. So, Dr. Lam's recommendation for me may very well be different than for those experiencing a PSA rise after treatments. I will probably ask him the hypothetical question anyway.